


Vocatus

by jennycatmystique



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, I promise, M/M, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, There will be a happy ending, everyone kind of just makes an appearance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-27
Updated: 2017-06-27
Packaged: 2018-11-19 21:43:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11322324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jennycatmystique/pseuds/jennycatmystique
Summary: The demon simply chuckled. “... Just a joke, hmmm? Can’t decide if I’m irritated or impressed with that- seeing as you went through all the effort… Either way- joke or no- this is more serious than you seem to be aware. You see, I came for the soul promised to me from our bargain.” They paused. Lavellan swallowed.or, that one time Lavellan summoned a demon for twenty five dollars





	Vocatus

“So explain something to me, Solas.”

“What is it, Lavellan?”

The elf in question looked down at the satchel of himalayan salt and herb mixture in his hand, a small frown marring his features. “Yah… So tell me again- why are we setting up a demon summoning ritual in your studio room?” It was cramped for one, all of the art major’s supplies crammed into the corners and strewn across the furniture. A musty smell hung lightly in the air, mingling with the scent of the herbs and salts sprinkled across the ground. Lavellan was less sure it actually qualified as an art studio at this point in his move, and seemed more like a junk room. It did fit the mood though, dim and dirty as it was, barely lit by a measly lamp in the corner.

He didn’t even believe in demons, how in void’s name did Solas talk him into helping with this?

Solas shrugged and hummed lightly from his spot on the floor, back to lavellan as he placed candles of red and gold along a large,white-chalk pentagram. “Because our illustrious Lady Vivienne has bet me $50 that the rituals in the book I uncovered will not work… In honesty, I really don’t know how I managed to allow myself to be talked into this. Too much pride, perhaps.”

Vivienne scoffed from her seat on the floor to the right of Lavellan, perfectly content sipping from her tea and _not_ helping prepare the demon pentagram.

“You have yourself too lost in this whole ‘“black magic” fad, dear. It’s absolutely preposterous that some dusty old tome you bought from a flea market is going to actually summon anything, aside from money for me.” She smiled sweetly, pushing her glasses up her nose as she nudged the worn book with her foot. “None of us can read ancient Tevene anyways, so you don’t even know what most of this useless thing says.” Solas paused, fixing her with an idle look of irritation and a grunt before pulling the book out of reach of Vivienne’s prying toes.. “Oh, but by all means, do continue… Sera dear what are you doing?”

”Lookin’.”

“... For?” Solas gave her an annoyed glance from his spot on the floor, pausing in the middle of lighting candles.

“... I dunno, something interesting’. Got to be something better to do than watchin’ you idiots.”

“Maybe if you search hard enough you’ll find his underwear.” Lavellan commended. Solas gave him a look of disapproval before pulling the pouch of salts from him and shoving coins in its place.

“... This is a studio, not my bedroom. Corners of the pentagram if you would, please.”

Sera snickered. “Haha, UGH, boxers or briefs- dirty maybe? You think he washes any of his clothes?”

Lavellan snorted. “More than you do, I haven’t seen your floor in months.” Sera stuck her tongue out in response.

“If you're so bored, then why are you here? You can barely even watch horror movies without bawling your eyes out.” Solas grunted in agreement with Lavellan’s statement, now moved on to lighting cone incense in the center of the pentagram drawing. An obnoxious smell quickly filled the room, floral and overbearing. How damned many did Solas need to light?

“First of all, fuck you. I’m not gunna be scared of some imaginary fuckin demon. And I’u’nno, like watching Solas eat shit. He always rants about all this demon and magic crap. Oh also ice cream after this, since he’ll be buyin’.”

“... Eloquent as always. In any case, we are ready, come sit beside me in front of the circle.” Solas placed a silver chalice in front of himself at the base of the pentagram as the others sat, dropping a coin and a quartz crystal into the cup, both items making a small clanking sound.

“Now the final step,” The elf held up a black knife, shining gold in the glow of the lit candles. “Blood must be sacrificed, and the book states virgin blood-” Sera interrupted with a giggle. Solas rolled his eyes before continuing. “Or, in other words, blood that has not been spilt for rituals before. It will not work if I use mine.” Now solas stared Vivienne down, smug in voice. “Someone else will need to do the honors… Vivienne?”

She stared him down just the same, lips pursed. “How exactly is this demon summoning supposed to work Solas?”

He paused. “In honesty I do not know, I hadn’t translated that far before making this bet. But probably as with any other summoning: sounds, possibly visions, demons will often use the smoke to communicate. If we are lucky an apparition may appear before us. It’s hard telling.”

She scoffed, but made no movement to take the knife. “So you don’t even actually know what this summoning is for, do you?”

“As a matter of fact, we are requesting the presence of desire demon. What is the matter, scared I’ll win? We can quit now if you wish.” He smiled as Vivienne glared him down, keeping still.

“... Lavellan I’ll give you half if you do it.”

“What no tha-”

“Fuckin’ sick, deal gimme that.” Sera laughed as Lavellan surged forward, snagging the knife from Solas who huffed in response.

“Very well, I guess; Lavellan, be careful to make a clean cut at the palm of your hand, and let it into the chalice. Careful not to hit it, if the cup is moved from that spot the ritual ends. Oh and try not to drip, blood stains are hard to clean from hardwood.”

“Roger boss.” He started for a moment, pressing the sharp blade against his hand. Was he about to cut his hand open for 25 bucks?

Absofuckinlutely.

He gulped, then dug the blade into his hand and tugged. The elf bit off a shriek as the flesh was sliced open, blood welling to the surface and pain surging through his arm. He held his hand out as it dripped- no wait that was a lot of blood it was _pouring_ oh maker’s balls _he was gonna die_ \- into the waiting cup, coating the crystal and coin.

“Good, a bit more, it has to cover both completely… Alright Lavellan, give me your hand.” He held out a towel. Lavellan chewed his lip, groaning as Solas swaddled the bleeding appendage and applied pressure.

“That went better than expected, now w-” Solas was cut off, a rumbling emanating from the pentagram, soon from the entire room itself. The smoke of the incense swirled, multiplying and filling the room, concentrating at the center of the pentagram to a mass opaque cloud. Sera cursed and Vivienne balked, Lavellan and Solas sharing a look of terror, eyes wide and mouth agape. Solas lunged for the cup, but as his fingers brushed the gilded, silver surface of the handle a shock wave emanated as the cloud dispersed, the pressure throwing Lavellan over- and the other’s further, Sera crying out in pain as she was slammed against the wall with Vivienne and Solas right behind.  
Lavellan groaned as he pulled himself back up, freezing in place at the sound of a deep, foreign chuckle from in front of him.

Someone new had joined them- no. Someone new had been _summoned_. He lifted his gaze slowly, tenderly, only to meet eyes with who waited in the pentagram and wished he hadn’t. Actually come to think of it he wished he hadn’t even been here in the first place. It was… A physical form of sorts, seemingly made of twisting, liquid, ebony shadows. Smoke wafted from and around them. The burly figure was bipedal, but aside from a sleek, long tail and large, twisting horns adorned in gems and chains, there were few discernible features about the creature before him.

“Demon.” Solas’s voice was nothing more than an awe-filled, breathy whisper from somewhere behind Lavellan, who was too preoccupied with staring to care where the voice was coming from.

The demon’s tail swished idly, shining black eyes unreadable as they stared into Lavellan’s own. He was unsure how he knew the demon was staring at him, no pupils or irises to be seen; the extra thought settled into the elf’s stomach like a lead brick. The demon finally tore their sight from Lavellan, taking note of the others, Sera huddled in the corner, Vivienne crouched beside holding onto her shoulder, and Solas standing by the door, stance tight as a whip. The demon seemed… Amused? They snorted.

“Well, this is… Quite a sight.” Their voice was rather pleasant, all things considered. A smooth, silky baritone, though it rumbled deep in their chest and echoed off the walls despite the low volume. “I will admit I’m impressed, no one has used this summoning in quite some time…” Their eyes came back to Lavellan, a sickeningly sweet smile spreading smoothly across their face. “Are you ready to make a deal, Master?”

Oh. Oh that couldn’t be good. On a scale of one to ten of “shit’s gone wrong” this was probably a solid 13.

“How… Uh, w-why am I your master? Look this… This is just a big mistake.” His voice quivered, a wavering smile on his face; short of breath he barely managed anything above a whisper. The demon heard nonetheless. They tilted their head to the side, tail flicking.

“You are the one who sacrificed blood for the pact, no? By what do you mean… A mistake?”

“Uhm. I-it wasn’t supposed to actually work! It was only me ‘cus the others said we had to use virgin blood!”

“Mmm, yes, and virgin in just more than _blood_ now aren’t we?” Their smile turned taunting, amusement seeping in their voice.

“What? No, no you ass I’m not a virgin o- of course I’ve- nevermind. We… we didn’t mean to summon you it- we- It was a joke, a bet, it wasn’t…” He stumbled over his own tongue, words attempting to escape him too fast to make any coherent sentences out of them.

The demon simply chuckled. “... Just a joke, hmmm? Can’t decide if I’m irritated or impressed with that- seeing as you went through all the effort… Either way- joke or no- this is more serious than you seem to be aware. You see, I came for the soul promised to me from our bargain.” They paused. Lavellan swallowed.

“You invoke a demon with this ritual, the demon grants you one wish, and then when you die, they get your soul.” Their smile widened, eyes shining with unbridled excitement. Lavellan suddenly felt a lot less like a “master” and more like a mouse with his tail caught in a trap, the demon a house cat now toying with his food. their smile was no longer sweet, all sharp edges and dripping with dubious intent as they spoke. An ebony tail swished idly. “In this case, _I_ get your soul. You did read the fine print for the spell, yes?”

Solas groaned. O.K. Scrap the earlier notion, this was at least a 16 now.

“Ah, mm-no.. Fuck.”

The creature finally stepped from the center of the summoning, a soft shriek emanating from the corner Sera huddled in. Lavellan spared a glance back, Sera’s gaze fixated on the abomination, eyes shining bright with her unconcealed terror. So much for the big talk from before. A soft chuckle brought his attention back to the demon now circling around Lavellan, clawed index finger trailing idly across his shoulder blades. Facing their prey again they crouched down to eye level, running their finger up the elf’s neck and cupping his jaw.

Their free hand grasped Lavellan’s bleeding right one, pulling it towards them and turning it palm-side up to expose the deep cut as Lavellan hissed. “A favor,” was whispered before they slowly licked the blood away; but in the wake of their tongue the cut was gone. Somehow, that didn’t make the elf feel any better. The appendage fell uselessly to his side once more.

“You see, if you refuse to make a deal with me, then you must forfeit something to me for my time-” They cast a sidelong glance at Sera again, slick tongue running across their teeth. “In which case, your friends will be fair game, I’m afraid. I could just eat them, or tear the flesh from their bones, maybe torture them; oh, how I do enjoy the screams of mortals just before I kill them.”

“N-no! Please, I… Dammit, okay, I get it, I got myself into this. Just- just leave them alone.”

“And is there any way to nullify this agreement, if I may ask?” Vivienne finally piped up from her own spot against the back wall, releasing Sera and taking a step forward in challenge as she spoke. She held a noncommittal tone- but her form was stiff, shoulders drawn and a stance that said she was ready for anything.

“Hmm, you mortals like to think you are so good at these things. Treating everything like a game, always trying to find the loopholes. But yes, if he is to wish for something I can grant but refuse to, then I simply leave empty handed. But I assure you, that tiny mind of his won’t be able to come up with anything like that.” They winked at Lavellan. “So be sure not to waste this, yes?” Lavellan frowned.

“And what can’t you grant then, would be the next logical question.” Solas had apparently also decided to join the conversation finally, the demon responding with a short huff.

“You know you two seem to have gained a lot of courage for mortals that were too cowardly to use their own blood for this. If you wanted the right to ask questions, maybe you should have done the ritual yourself.” They regarded the other elf, irritation evident on their face- which still happened to be too close to Lavellan for comfort.

“Don’t avoid the question.” Lavellan could finally speak evenly again, pulling an impressive facade as his heart continued to pound, still lodged in his throat.

The demon turned back to him, the exasperation quickly wiped away, replaced with eagerness. “Well of course, master. I happen to be not only very gorgeous, but also very powerful- so lucky for you there are very few limitations. I cannot resurrect anyone, and I cannot make anyone fall in love with you. Only our Creator can hold power over the dead, and demons take autonomy of a being very seriously, so corrupting the feelings of another for your own gain is blasphemous. Other than that, the possibilities are endless.”

“So… What anything outside of that then? I guess that’s… Straightforward.” Lavellan tilted his head as he pondered. They smiled.

“I’m a demon of desires, Lavellan. I have the power to see intimately into your heart- to look at what you most care for, what you yearn for. I can of course make you more appealing to one of your desires, or heal someone. I can bestow upon you anything your mortal heart could wish, really. Power, riches, strength to strike down even the greatest armies- unbound pleasures of the flesh that you can only dream of.” They ran a claw across Lavellan’s neck and for a stuttering heartbeat he seized, shortened breath catching in his throat as every nerve thrummed, absolutely sinful pleasure like liquid fire running through his veins. The sensation is gone as soon as it comes, leaving the elf hunched and shaking, desperately trying to gulp down air again. The demon hummed their approval. “Anything you want, I will give.”

“T-the only price… I- is my soul. What a bargain.” Lavellan scowled up at the demon, the flush of hot, over sensitized skin across his cheeks. His look had little effect, their response dark lips pulling into a wicked smile, fangs shining in the dim candlelight.

“Of course, Lavellan. So, best to make your wish something that you find to be worth while, yes? It’s always interesting to see what you mortals see as important in your short, fleeting lives.”

Lavellan scoffed. “I’ll go out on a limb and assume you don’t have a very high opinion of us “mortals,” do you?”

They responded with an shrug. “No, not really. I wouldn’t even deal with your putrid world if I didn’t need to, or if I wasn’t bored and hungry.”

The elf frowned, gaze falling to his lap. After a moment he sighed, running a hand through his hair and down his neck before pulling himself back to his feet, the demon following suit. He had one chance to not fuck this up. Should he try to wish for something ridiculous? Attempt to get the demon to give up? That was risky, if he made a stupid wish as a bluff and the demon granted it, well then he was boned. Or he could just accept his fate and wish for something he would truly want… Didn’t the movies always say that was bad though? Either way, he played right into the demon’s hands. Why the fuck would anyone do this?

“Oh, do hurry up; I’ll take your silence as a forfeit otherwise.” Their tone is positively giddy as Lavellan mulled over his fate.

“Augh, damn you just give me like 30 seconds…” Pompous asshole… the demon had Lavellan cornered and they knew it, smiling down at him like that… Great now Lavellan was just pissed.

“... How long can you stay on earth? Do you have to leave after I make my wish?”

“Well, no… I would prefer to get it over and wait for you to croak from the comfort of my home, but if your wish needed I could stay as long as necessary.” The demon frowned, examining him as they obviously tried to see the angle Lavellan was playing at, tail flicking in idle irritation. Well at least they weren’t smiling anymore.

“Are you always such a prick?”

“Ha! Yes, tormenting you will be a fond memory.”

“Two can play at that game, you know. You aren’t the only smartass here.”

“Oh? My sincerest apologies, I thought I was the only one in the room with a sense of humor. Do enlighten me.”

“Alright fine then, I know what I want to wish for.” Fuck it, his soul was forfeit anyways, might as well mess with the asswipe who was going to take it.

“Yes go ahead, I am but at your command.” The demon bowed stiffly in faux courtesy, devious eyes trained on Lavellan’s own.

“Lavellan. Just… Do think this over dear, carefully.” Vivienne frowned, unable to come up with any real advice. Lavellan waved her off, attention focused on articulating his next words.

“... My wish is… Is for you to become mortal, and stay on earth here with me until I die- t-the factor of which you have no control over!” Lavellan swallowed past the lump in his throat, hands balled into sweaty fists hanging uselessly at his sides. His cards lay bare on the table, now there was no going back.

The demon’s smug look was wiped completely clean, replaced with one of abhorrent astonishment.

“WHAT?!” A chorus of voices echo off the walls.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello thank you for taking your time to check out this dumpster fire! Kudos and comments are extremely appreciated! This has been a long work in progress, so I'm just as excited to see where this goes.


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